<p>What schools would you guys say have the top ten best overall undergraduate experiences? I searched but only found one out-dated thread.</p>
<p>My top ten:</p>
<ol>
<li>Stanford</li>
<li>Princeton</li>
<li>Dartmouth</li>
<li>Harvard</li>
<li>Yale</li>
<li>Duke</li>
<li>University of Chicago</li>
<li>Penn</li>
<li>Brown</li>
<li>Northwestern</li>
</ol>
<p>Dartmouth
Princeton
Stanford
Yale
Duke/brown/Yale/Penn
Harvard
Chicago</p>
<ol>
<li>Colorado State University</li>
<li>Washington State University</li>
<li>Oregon State University</li>
<li>University of British Columbia</li>
<li>University of Washington</li>
<li>Montana State University</li>
<li>University of Denver</li>
<li>University of Alberta</li>
<li>University of Calgary</li>
<li>University of Colorado</li>
</ol>
<p>Based on a little work with the CC SuperMatch tool and some personal intuition.</p>
<p>stanford, duke, notre dame, berkeley, ucla, michigan, cornell, unc, texas, virginia in no particular order. these schools have good academics, good sports teams and i think would make for a good undergrad experience.</p>
<p>This varies according to each persons needs and wants, but to me, the ideal undergraduate experience would have a good balance of the following:</p>
<p>-Academic prestige/name recognition
-Athletic success
-Great, safe location (preferably a college town)
-Lots of attractive members of the opposite sex</p>
<p>I found my ideal school in UNC-Chapel Hill. Other schools that would meet my own requirements would be Michigan, Wisconsin, Georgia, and Vanderbilt.</p>
<p>Duke, North Carolina, Notre Dame, Stanford, Vanderbilt, Virginia, Wake Forest</p>
<p>In no particular order.</p>
<p>I conducted a second analysis using IPEDS data, which allowed me to make soft geographic cuts instead of the absolute system I used before. My earlier ranking is basically correct, although Oregon State should be lower and the following three schools should be added:
Michigan
Wisconsin
Minnesota</p>
<p>i think that’s relative to the individual, because each person has its own distinct way of enjoying college activities. but, generally, those schools with a great combination of top academics and active sports participation are the schools that offer top undergraaduate experience. to my knowledge the top 12 are:</p>
<p>Stanford
Berkeley
Duke
UNC
Notre Dame
Rice
Michigan
Northwestern
USC
UCLA
Vanderbilt
Virginia</p>
<p>This thread lists the 2010 “happiest” students and “best quality of life” rankings by Princeton Review.</p>
<p><a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/university-pittsburgh/973865-quality-life-happiest-student-rankings.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/university-pittsburgh/973865-quality-life-happiest-student-rankings.html</a></p>
<p>Some of the top colleges are:
Rice
Stanford
Claremont McKenna
Bowdoin
Brown</p>
<p>very interesting findings in those Princeton Review rankings!</p>
<p>Duke, Stanford, Notre Dame- academics, athletics, campus.</p>
<p>Duke and particularly Notre Dame are in less than desirable locations. Stanford is truly in a league all it’s own in this regard.</p>
<p>^Par,</p>
<p>If academics, athletics, and campus are your sole criteria, then I think schools like Cornell, Vanderbilt, and Northwestern should also be included</p>
<p>^Definitely invest also in USC. Weve been constantly rising in the rankings, and everything here is just a great deal above average. You really see your money going into technology, facility and faculty improvements. The campus and student body is great, the school really encourages breadth with depth, and there is a lot of international emphasis. No school is investing in Asia as heavily as USC is, and thats where the big money is gna be in the future. Its clear that the school owns a lot of resources, and is reflected in the quality of education. USC is more prestigious than what I thought it actually was; a lot of my professors graduated from or taught at MIT, Harvard, Dartmouth etc, and students (more than I expected) actually chose USC over the ivies, even with similar finaid packages.</p>
<p>Stanford is the most overrated school in the country in regards to “overall undergraduate experience”. It doesn’t have a powerhouse basketball or football team and its tailgating/game attendance is pitiful in comparison to schools like Duke, Vanderbilt, UNC, Michigan, UCLA and USC. Furthermore, Stanford doesn’t have a particularly “lively” or “spirited” campus in comparison to Duke or Vanderbilt. It’s Greek Life is a huge joke.</p>
<p>UNC and UT-Austin are the most well-rounded schools in the country and I’m saying this as a Blue Devil. They both have a gorgeous campus, incredible college town, top-notch academics, iconic basketball or football programs and hot girls. These two schools are untouchable in this regard. Winner winner, chicken dinner.</p>
<p>Neither made the Sexiest colleges list.</p>
<p>[Unigo’s</a> Top 10 Sexiest Schools (PHOTOS)](<a href=“Unigo's Top 10 Sexiest Schools (PHOTOS) | HuffPost College”>Unigo's Top 10 Sexiest Schools (PHOTOS) | HuffPost College)</p>
<p>My List: </p>
<p>1)Cornell ( 2nd biggest Frat Scene in the U.S, Large Successful Alumni base. )
2)Columbia ( Trivial. Its in New York! Undergraduates are “Ivy trendy”. )
3)Dartmouth ( School is focused on undergrads )
4)Brown ( Open Curriculum. Abundance of hippie liberals )
5)Upenn (Wharton, Good party scene)
6)Harvard ( Pronounced HaHvuhd. Overrated school that is basically only good for networking. 85% of kids suffer mental issues because most are pressured to getting into Harvard.Google it. Hardest school to get in. Easiest to get out of.</p>
<p>How can we all list the best undergrad experiences if we haven’t EXPERIENCED them?!</p>
<p>Princeton Review’s list:</p>
<p>“Happiest Students”
<p>“Best Quality of Life”
<p>Definitely would be Clemson! (just kidding, play with me on this haha)</p>
<p>US News #12 - Best Undergraduate Teaching
Princeton Review #5 - Happiest Students
Received a 97/99 (I think, somewhere in the high 90s) for quality of life from PR.</p>